At least 15 people were killed and several more injured in two suspected US drone attacks in North Waziristan tribal district Wednesday, a security official said. A US pilotless aircraft fired two missiles at a mud compound in Datta Khel area, near Afghan border, killing at least eight people in the afternoon, said a local intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Around an hour later, the second drone missile strike took place when the locals were retrieving bodies from the rubble of the compound, killing seven people. The official said the identity of those killed was not immediately known.
North Waziristan, one of seven districts in tribal region, is a known sanctuary of Taliban militants and al Qaeda operatives launching deadly assaults on Western troops operating in Afghanistan. The United States has intensified its drone strikes in the mountainous territory in recent months, apparently as part of its new strategy to tackle the Afghan insurgency.